Have you suffered a serious injury while at work? If a third-party caused your injury, you have a legal right to recover financial compensation from the person or organization that caused you harm. These types of claims allow you to recover damages for pain and suffering that are not paid through workers’ compensation. The personal injury attorneys at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, stand up for injured workers’ rights.
Please note that we do not handle workers’ compensation cases; a Watertown work injury lawyer from our firm only represents injured workers with third-party claims. However, if you need help with a workers’ comp claim, we can refer you to a workers’ compensation attorney.
For example, if you work as a visiting nurse and get rear-ended and injured while on your way to a patient’s home, even though this happened during work hours, you could pursue a third-party work injury claim against the person who rear-ended you.
Some other examples of third-party claims include:
When you have grounds to sue a third-party over an injury you suffer on the job, you can demand compensation for both economic and non-economic forms of harm. This means your case can include financial losses that have objective dollar values as well as subjective losses whose value depends on your own experiences and needs.
Specific damages you could pursue through a third-party work injury lawsuit in Watertown include but are not limited to:
When a work-related injury results from especially poor conduct or from someone trying to hurt you, you may be entitled to punitive damages against the defendant. Although, this is a rare outcome reserved for extreme situations, our Watertown work injury attorneys can explain when these types of punitive damages may be available.
Even if you can prove that someone else is to blame for your on-the-job injury, you may not be able to recover the full value of your losses if the court finds you partially responsible. This is because Connecticut General Statutes § 52-572h allows courts to reduce the value of an injured person’s damages award based on their share of “comparative fault.” This law also allows courts to bar an injured party who is more than 50 percent at fault from financial recovery altogether.
Additionally, C.G.S. § 52-584 allows most people who get hurt due to someone else’s misconduct just two years after sustaining an injury to file a lawsuit. Failing to start the litigation process before this deadline expires will lead to a court throwing the case out for being “time-barred.”
There’s no law stopping you from applying for workers’ comp benefits through your employer and filing a lawsuit against another third-party. But the fact that your employer provides workers’ comp coverage means you can’t sue them—even if their negligence is the main cause of your accident. There are rare exceptions to this so it is important that you speak to us as soon as possible.
On top of that, you can’t recover twice for the same losses through two separate claims, as our work injury lawyers in Watertown can further explain. For example, if workers’ comp covers all your medical bills, some of this amount will need to be reimbursed if there is a recovery in a third party claim.
Your injury may have happened at work, but it has the potential to affect your entire life. To the negligent party and their insurance company, you are just a number. For us, you are a human being who needs help. We will listen to your story, investigate what happened, negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, and if necessary, take your case to trial.
We will be your loyal legal advocate while you focus on healing and rebuilding your life. Talk to a Watertown work injury lawyer at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC about a potential third-party claim today. Call now to schedule your free, confidential consultation with one of our legal professionals.
